Filling a Need – Ricky Brookins Thrives to Surprise
10/27/2017 11:52:00 AM | Football
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Clueless won't win you snaps.
Ricky Brookins understands that.
Big schools are better than small.
Indiana's redshirt junior running back believes that.
You want to play as a walk-on, and nobody wants to play more than Brookins, then the No. 1 thing is to know what you're doing.
All the time.
Oh. Do it for Indiana in the Big Ten rather than an under-the-radar small school, and love every minute of it.
"This is awesome," he says. "This is what I worked for. I wanted to play against top schools and play in front of huge crowds. I'm doing that."
At 5-8 and 190 pounds, Brookins doesn't wow with size, speed or strength, but he gets the job done.
That can make all the difference.
"I try to provide dependability by letting the coaches know I know what I'm doing," he says. "So if there are two minutes left and the other team is going to bring crazy blitzes, the coaches know I can execute situationally.
"Like on third down I know I have to get to the marker to get the first down because we need this."
Brookins did it well enough last Saturday at Michigan State to earn the team's Offensive Player of the Week award despite totaling just two catches for 15 yards.
Why? Because Brookins blocked, hustled and made a key third-down, third-quarter 12-yard catch for a first down.
"He did everything we asked him to do in both protections and in the screen game, and just getting some tough runs," coach Tom Allen says. "Just a guy that came here as a walk-on that really has always been dependable, and love him for that and his character."
The award reflected years of hard work.
"Yes, it's rewarding and I'm elated to have it and get to do this stuff," Brookins says, "but I want to do more in bigger situations. Like, 'Hey we need this guy to do it.'
"I can be that guy. That's why in practice I work on consistency. Showing I can do it will bring more opportunities."
For the season, Brookins has rushed three times for just four yards, but does have a 2-yard touchdown run. He also has caught seven passes for 57 yards.
"The kid comes here with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove," Allen says. "It's hard to come here and have to pay for everything and not have everything given to year. He's had to earn it."
Coming out of Terre Haute North High School, Brookins wasn't a five-star guy (not many 5-8, 160-pound players are), although he did break a couple of Anthony Thompson's rushing records.
Thompson, in case you've forgotten, was a five-star guy back in his day before becoming an IU All-America and Heisman Trophy runner-up in the late 1980s.
As a high school senior in 2013, Brookins rushed for a state-best 2,012 yards, totaled 2,779 all-purpose yards, scored 31 touchdowns, intercepted a couple of passes and, in short, dominated.
Power 5 Conference programs weren't impressed. Brookins had small-school offers, but passed on them because, he says, "I wanted to go big."
Enter Indiana, which offered a preferred walk-on opportunity, with the chance to earn a scholarship -- if he had enough patience, determination and resolve.
Brookins redshirted his first season, with the highlight coming by winning Scout Team Player of the Week honors leading up to the Penn State game. In 2015 he earned a scholarship, rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries (a 40-yard run in a win over Purdue was the highlight) and averaged 17.2 yards a kickoff return.
Last season he earned a scholarship again, rushed for 82 yards and caught four passes for 16 more. His breakout moment came against No. 19 Utah in the Foster Farms Bowl when he rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries. He also had an 11-yard catch and a 19-yard kickoff return.
"The bowl game gave him confidence," Allen says. "He was waiting for an opportunity. It was like, 'Hey, that guy is making plays.'"
That more than anything, Brookins says, convinced him he was on the right path.
"I showed them I could be the starter, the guy who could run, pass protect, run routes. I hope to get opportunities like that where I can get a lot of plays in a row. Where you don't have to sub out for certain things -- we only need these backs for these things. But if that's the role I have to play, then just wait for those opportunities."
In other words, more patience and resolve.
"The type of person I am, you get discouraged, but it never made me want to quit," he says.
"When I came here, I knew what I was going up against. People would say, 'You're not going to have a chance.' Of course you get that, because they always say that about walk-ons.
"I never got discouraged to the point where I wanted to quit. I love football, this is a big school and a lot of fun. I know I can out-work people. I'm never going to stop. I knew I could do it."
Quarterback Peyton Ramsey knows it, too.
"He's really dynamic and he's smart when he has the ball," Ramsey says. "When he catches the ball, he's worried about getting north and south, making somebody miss and getting a first down. As long as we keep moving the chains, which he's really good at doing, that's big for our offense."
Adds Allen: "He does all the little things right. And with guys getting dinged up, we need him."
Brookins aims to capitalize.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Clueless won't win you snaps.
Ricky Brookins understands that.
Big schools are better than small.
Indiana's redshirt junior running back believes that.
You want to play as a walk-on, and nobody wants to play more than Brookins, then the No. 1 thing is to know what you're doing.
All the time.
Oh. Do it for Indiana in the Big Ten rather than an under-the-radar small school, and love every minute of it.
"This is awesome," he says. "This is what I worked for. I wanted to play against top schools and play in front of huge crowds. I'm doing that."
At 5-8 and 190 pounds, Brookins doesn't wow with size, speed or strength, but he gets the job done.
That can make all the difference.
"I try to provide dependability by letting the coaches know I know what I'm doing," he says. "So if there are two minutes left and the other team is going to bring crazy blitzes, the coaches know I can execute situationally.
"Like on third down I know I have to get to the marker to get the first down because we need this."
Brookins did it well enough last Saturday at Michigan State to earn the team's Offensive Player of the Week award despite totaling just two catches for 15 yards.
Why? Because Brookins blocked, hustled and made a key third-down, third-quarter 12-yard catch for a first down.
"He did everything we asked him to do in both protections and in the screen game, and just getting some tough runs," coach Tom Allen says. "Just a guy that came here as a walk-on that really has always been dependable, and love him for that and his character."
The award reflected years of hard work.
"Yes, it's rewarding and I'm elated to have it and get to do this stuff," Brookins says, "but I want to do more in bigger situations. Like, 'Hey we need this guy to do it.'
"I can be that guy. That's why in practice I work on consistency. Showing I can do it will bring more opportunities."
For the season, Brookins has rushed three times for just four yards, but does have a 2-yard touchdown run. He also has caught seven passes for 57 yards.
"The kid comes here with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove," Allen says. "It's hard to come here and have to pay for everything and not have everything given to year. He's had to earn it."
Coming out of Terre Haute North High School, Brookins wasn't a five-star guy (not many 5-8, 160-pound players are), although he did break a couple of Anthony Thompson's rushing records.
Thompson, in case you've forgotten, was a five-star guy back in his day before becoming an IU All-America and Heisman Trophy runner-up in the late 1980s.
As a high school senior in 2013, Brookins rushed for a state-best 2,012 yards, totaled 2,779 all-purpose yards, scored 31 touchdowns, intercepted a couple of passes and, in short, dominated.
Power 5 Conference programs weren't impressed. Brookins had small-school offers, but passed on them because, he says, "I wanted to go big."
Enter Indiana, which offered a preferred walk-on opportunity, with the chance to earn a scholarship -- if he had enough patience, determination and resolve.
Brookins redshirted his first season, with the highlight coming by winning Scout Team Player of the Week honors leading up to the Penn State game. In 2015 he earned a scholarship, rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries (a 40-yard run in a win over Purdue was the highlight) and averaged 17.2 yards a kickoff return.
Last season he earned a scholarship again, rushed for 82 yards and caught four passes for 16 more. His breakout moment came against No. 19 Utah in the Foster Farms Bowl when he rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries. He also had an 11-yard catch and a 19-yard kickoff return.
"The bowl game gave him confidence," Allen says. "He was waiting for an opportunity. It was like, 'Hey, that guy is making plays.'"
That more than anything, Brookins says, convinced him he was on the right path.
"I showed them I could be the starter, the guy who could run, pass protect, run routes. I hope to get opportunities like that where I can get a lot of plays in a row. Where you don't have to sub out for certain things -- we only need these backs for these things. But if that's the role I have to play, then just wait for those opportunities."
In other words, more patience and resolve.
"The type of person I am, you get discouraged, but it never made me want to quit," he says.
"When I came here, I knew what I was going up against. People would say, 'You're not going to have a chance.' Of course you get that, because they always say that about walk-ons.
"I never got discouraged to the point where I wanted to quit. I love football, this is a big school and a lot of fun. I know I can out-work people. I'm never going to stop. I knew I could do it."
Quarterback Peyton Ramsey knows it, too.
"He's really dynamic and he's smart when he has the ball," Ramsey says. "When he catches the ball, he's worried about getting north and south, making somebody miss and getting a first down. As long as we keep moving the chains, which he's really good at doing, that's big for our offense."
Adds Allen: "He does all the little things right. And with guys getting dinged up, we need him."
Brookins aims to capitalize.
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